Hercules Movie Analysis Essay Example

The film I chose to watch and write an essay on is one that I have had a nostalgic tie to since childhood (Hercules. Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. Disney, 1997). In this movie, there are many references to the actual literary sources of Herakles (ex. Alcestis), but also silenced parts of these sources that were removed for modern values' sake

Throughout history, many versions of Herakles existed that were played in theaters and shown to the world. Plenty of these films took elements from early writings such as Hesiod's Theogony or Homer's Odyssey, while other versions decided to improvise from later sources such as Alcestius and Plautus. If we are looking at the specific sources that were used for the Disney version of the movie, the closest resemblance you will see is the Alcestis version. But here is the catch, while you will notice situations in Alcestis that are strikingly similar when you read and compare the two of them side to side, they will also seem like two entirely separate myths.  Initially, we will notice that Herakles is spelled two different ways. One is Roman (Hercules), while the other is Greek (Herakles). Interestingly, despite having Greek elements in the movie, Disney decided to use the Roman equivalent of Herakles. While I cannot understand the logic behind it, it does demonstrate how similar and different these versions are.

If we were to delve deeper into the text, we realize that the motif is the same, but the writing is different. An example of this is when the muses sang in Hercules. Here, they hinted at the film being a non-tragedy, while in reality, Alcestis was considered a Greek tragedy. 

Let's examine the differences between the characters involved in the myth. Alcestis begins with the murder of Asclepius, Apollo's son, by Zeus. Thus, Apollo killed Cyclops and, in return, was made a servant of Admetus by Zeus. Because Admetus was so kind to Apollo, he decided to serve Admetus as his herdsman. In Disney's Hercules, there was no reference to Apollo or Admetus, and Asclepius was not killed with a thunderbolt by Zeus as the whole storyline was never told. The film begins with the muses singing about Zeus' victory against the titans. It then goes on to show a party the gods and goddesses are holding for baby Hercules, soon to be mortal after Hades steals the child and gives him a purple potion. 

Why did Disney remove this part of the myth? Well, Disney IS known to water things down, especially for their audience (now that they are known for their light-hearted movies, their audience is generally younger). Imagine the terror the parents will feel once they see that their child has seen a father kill his son's son. Considering cancel culture today, people would probably cancel the movie and sue it for releasing that content. Yet, as a child, I would have loved to see the true writings behind the film. I may have been more inclined to read more about it because it would have made it much more interesting than boring. But let's move on to the next comparison  If you have ever seen the Disney version of Hercules, it is a well-known fact that Hercules traveled to the underworld to save Megara's soul. The situation is very similar in Alcestis. But, instead of Herakles saving Megara's soul, he rescues the wife of Admetus because of Admetus's generous hospitality. 

Once Herakles saves Alcestis from the underworld, he presents her to Admetus. Admetus refused to accept the offer because he did not know it was his wife. He believed it was another woman. He thought he could not marry the mysterious veiled woman because he wanted to stay loyal to Alcestis and her wishes. Once everything became clear, he wondered why his wife was silent. Herakles responded to his confusion with, "you may not hear her voice until she is purified from her consecration to the Lower Gods, and until the third dawn has risen...". 

In the original literary source, Herakles was not the only one to fetch a soul from Hades, (Death). In the beginning, Apollo is shown to have saved Admetus's soul by fooling both Death and the Fates. The reason was that he had great respect for a man like Admetus. He was willing to save his wife, too, but no matter what he said to Death, nothing would change the Greek God's mind.

Of course, this doesn't follow in the Disney version of Hercules. Apollo was never mentioned anyway. Which is a bummer. Though it is not exactly censorship, since myths can be passed down and can be modified with time, I still feel like it is a type of censorship that tries to fit today's social standards. I imagine not many people know about the literary sources that Disney used to make Hercules. I sure didn't and was surprised when I recognized how different both of them were. Hopefully in the future, more accurate films will be made that take on more of what's in the original literary source, versus what people think is best for today's values.